The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to include five-cylinder and seven-cylinder varieties.

In 1928, Wright replaced the R-790 series with the J-6 Whirlwind family, in which a supercharger was added to boost engine power and the cylinders were enlarged by expanding the bore.

This family included three members: the nine-cylinder R-975, the seven-cylinder R-760, and the five-cylinder R-540, providing a range of different power levels using the same basic design.

[1][2] Air-cooled Whirlwinds were lighter and more reliable than liquid-cooled engines of similar power, since a liquid cooling system added weight and required extra maintenance.

Licensed copies were produced by manufacturers such as Continental Motors, Hispano-Suiza, and adapted for Soviet government production by the Shvetsov OKB-19 design bureau.